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Shan had a feeling that this job wasn't going to go their way, at least not completely, so when the need to abandon Nina in the hallway suddenly struck her while Kaz rifled through the accountants office they were guarding - she hesitated.
Hesitation, in her experience, was a terrible thing that had the power to tip the scales of life and death drastically.
Nothing had gone wrong yet, which was stellar to say the least, but as Shan followed the Heartrender inside after tucking the unconcious bouncer in a little nook where he wouldn't be seen, her vision twisted.
She hadn't realised she'd even stopped walking, stiff in the middle of the hallway, with images of an iridescent crow with purple tinged wings stained through crimson. The creature attempted to lift its limp wings from where they dragged across the floor, leaving a bloody trail behind, and knew without a doubt that it could not fly no matter how hard it tried.
It's pained caws rang through Shan's skull as Nina placed a hand on her arm, snapping her out of her daze.
Her eyebrows were drawn in concern. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I..." her eyes locked with hers.
She felt unsteady, unfocussed, drawn by the instinct to turn around down the corridor they had just passed that led up to the roof.
Nina scanned the woman up and down, wary, as though sensing something within her that she could not see.
Blood soaked wings twitching in pain-
Shan backed away, shaking her head. "No." She countered. "I have to go to the roof. Inej will need-"
"-Kaz said we're needed here in case-"
"-sod what Kaz says." Shan breathed, the panic building slowly in her chest but not knowing why. "You'll manage. There isn't much I can do here."
But there might be something she could do for Inej.
After a long while of reluctance, she finally nodded and let her go. There wasn't much arguing would do, Shan was set in her decision and it would only waste time they couldn't afford standing in that corridor not on watch.
"Okay."
She flashed the heartrender an attempt at a reassuring smile, but darted back around the corner in a flurry of dark skirts and white hair. Shan kept an ear out for any sounds as she carried on down a long empty hallway, turning the next right and shoving open the more industrial door tucked away at the end.
The staircase up to the roof was winding and steep. Still, she jogged up them as quick as she could without making a sound, her stomach twisting with nerves. At the top, her hands tugged at the handle but it made a clanking sound, remaining rigid in place beneath her fingers. She slid the lock open and tried again but it remained stuck, as if wedged by something from the other side.
